Skills learned in session vanish when patients need them most. What's tech's job here?
Hi PH — Nicholas Gehle, Psy.D. Licensed clinical psychologist.
Spent ~15 years watching clients learn techniques in session that they couldn't recall when they actually needed them — at 2 AM, mid-panic, mid-fight with a partner. I started calling it "crisis amnesia." It's not memory failure. Emotion at intensity blocks access to skills.
Most of the digital answers feel like one of two things to me:
1. Generative chatbots that hallucinate clinical advice and build attachment to a product instead of a relationship.
2. Static PDFs and worksheet apps that don't meet the moment when the moment is overwhelming.
I've been building a third option — a library of structured, evidence-based tools (CBT, DBT, mindfulness, sleep protocols) you can open at 2 AM and finish in two minutes. No chatbot. No streaks. No engagement loops.
Goes live on PH next Tuesday, May 5, 12:01 AM PT.
The reason I'm posting here first — I want to know what the PH community sees:
— If you've used a mental health app, what kept you using it (or made you quit)?
— Founders in health tech: how are you drawing the AI / clinical guardrail line?
— Clinicians on PH: what would you need to see in a tool before recommending it to your own clients?
I'll be in the comments.
— Nick
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